Can Rovanpera leave the WRC on an ultimate high?

The single-seater racing-bound rallying phenom that is Kalle Rovanpera has brought himself back into the World Rally Championship title fight to set up perhaps the ultimate ending to his top-flight rallying career.

The WRC is enjoying its most thrilling and close title fight in years with Toyota trio Elfyn Evans, Sebastien Ogier and Rovanpera now separated by 13 points with two rounds remaining.

A title success for each of the trio would make a compelling story. For Evans it would be the realisation of a lifelong dream - a maiden world title after finishing as the runner-up on four occasions. If Ogier emerges victorious he will join Sebastien Loeb as a nine-time world champion in remarkable fashion after sitting out three rallies due to his wish to contest a partial campaign. However, if Rovanpera takes glory it will be the ultimate send off for the Finn’s WRC career, before joining Super Formula to embark on a career in single-seater racing next year.

At the halfway point in the campaign it was difficult to build a case for Rovanpera, such has been the topsy turvy nature of his campaign. The 25-year-old was 33 points adrift of the championship lead after the Acropolis Rally in Greece following a rare retirement. For most of the season the Finn has looked lost and unable to find an answer and a driving style to extract speed from the new Hankook tyres, particularly on gravel. The most damning realisation of this was in Estonia, a rally that Rovanpera hails as his favourite and has been supremely dominant.

After finishing a distant fourth, Rovanpera offered a bleak assessment of his situation that we are simply not used to hearing from a driver that has been such a force in recent years. “It has been the trend the whole year, we just don't have the pace on gravel at the moment. I really tried this weekend, and if we can't do it here in Estonia I don't know if we can do it anywhere else,” he said.

Fast forward to the present and Rovanpera has enjoyed quite the turnaround and is very much in the title conversation after taking his third win of the season at last weekend’s Central European Rally. The win followed an impressive run to victory on home soil in Finland, where despite his struggles on gravel, he found a way to adjust his driving style to something unnatural to deliver the ultimate outcome. It is fair to say that in recent events Rovanpera has found a driving style and set up to extract speed on gravel. In both Paraguay and Chile he led the events before a puncture and a mistake that led to a puncture proved costly.

Rovanpera has found a breakthrough over the second half of this season to launch himself back into the title picture

Photo by: Toyota Racing

But it is on asphalt, the surface he will become well acquainted with in his circuit racing future, where Rovanpera has truly starred this year. Utter domination in the Canary Islands was the first sign of this tarmac pace, which was then backed up last weekend in Central Europe as Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen picked up only their third win on asphalt as a top-flight crew.

Having closed the deficit to the championship lead to 13 points with a total of 70 left on the table, the prospect of Rovanpera enjoying the ultimate end to his WRC career is a real possibility. The next hurdle however is Rally Japan, an asphalt event Rovanpera has stated is not among his favourites due to the stages’ narrow and technical nature. His best result on Toyota’s home rally is a run to third in 2023.

But Rovanpera heads there with momentum, carrying a nothing to lose attitude with two titles already in the bag, and with the knowledge this could be his final WRC campaign. In Central Europe this attitude resulted in victory and could be a telling factor in the climax of this campaign.

"At the start of the season it wasn’t so nice because we were coming to events trying to do our best, but still the pace wasn’t there. Now the set up and the driving style is more optimised for the car" Jonne Halttunen

There is no doubt that the hunger is there.

“For sure [we are super hungry], when you get closer and closer you get hungrier for the title,” Rovanpera told Autosport. “We really had the plan to go for the win and there is not much to lose to be honest for us. We can just go fighting until the end, whatever happens, so we will continue to do the same and see how Japan will be.”

According to Rovanpera's co-driver Halttunen the pair are also getting closer to their best on the Hankook rubber: “I would still say we are not at the same form as we were with the previous tyre brand, but we are getting quite close. Now it is fun. At the start of the season it wasn’t so nice because we were coming to events trying to do our best, but still the pace wasn’t there. Now the set up and the driving style is more optimised for the car, it is getting better.”

A set-up and driving style breakthrough with Hankook's tyres has aided Rovanpera recent surge

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Clearly he has demonstrated how strong he can be on asphalt this year, so it is entirely conceivable Rovanpera, who now leads WRC 2025 stage wins tally on 50, will be challenging for victory.

But let’s not forget Rovanpera will face formidable opposition from his rivals.

Rovanpera’s title contenders

Elfyn Evans: 247 points
Wins: 2 (Sweden, Kenya)
Podiums: 7
Stage wins: 18

When it comes to consistency Evans has led the way, finishing every rally inside the top six and has made zero major mistakes. It is this metronomic ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over that has been Evans’ strength. It is a tried and tested system that in the past has yielded titles as Britain’s last world champion Richard Burns proved.

A run of three consecutive second-place finishes has proved valuable in opening up a 13-point lead. The Welshman has had the pace to win rallies early in the season and has performed admirably while opening the road on gravel events. But Evans has struggled to find the speed to take events by the scruff of the neck like Ogier and Rovanpera.

Evans has also shown pace on both asphalt and gravel this year and now the season heads to Japan, a rally he has won twice in the last three years. Evans seems to thrive on Japan’s tricky stages, and a hat-trick victory there next month could prove pivotal.

Sebastien Ogier: 234 points
Wins: 5 (Monte Carlo, Portugal, Sardinia, Paraguay, Chile)
Podiums: 8
Stage wins: 48

Ogier remains the favourite among many to win a stunning ninth world title despite losing his grasp on the championship lead at the Central European Rally last weekend. The 41-year-old has been the clear driver of the season to date. Up until last weekend Ogier had finished every round of his partial campaign on the podium, including five wins.

This year Ogier is delivering his very best that has helped him to eight world titles already. The steely determination to maximise every opportunity for points is plain to see. Last weekend was perhaps the best example, as Ogier bounced back to claim the maximum 10 Super Sunday points after a puncture contributed to a first retirement of the season while again fighting for the win with Rovanpera.

There is no doubt that when it comes to a title fight Ogier’s speed, adaptability to changing conditions and mental fortitude is difficult to beat. Central Europe was a setback, but Ogier is a driver his rivals should fear when his back is against the wall. Ogier also has form in Japan having finished second in the last two iterations.

Ogier lost the points lead in Central Europe

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Ott Tanak: 197 points
Wins: 1 (Monte Carlo, Portugal, Sardinia, Paraguay, Chile)
Podiums: 8
Stage wins: 49

Hyundai’s Tanak still has a mathematical chance of lifting a second world championship, although the Estonian has written off his title hopes after finishing second last weekend.

Nobody can deny Tanak’s speed having taken more stage wins than Ogier this year, but his machinery has not proved a match for the Toyota GR Yaris. Sitting 50 points adrift, Tanak will realistically require his rivals to hit trouble to haul himself back into the title conversion.

Saudi Arabia could provide the ultimate decider

However, what will most likely decide the fairytale finish to Rovanpera’s WRC career is the ultimate unknown of the Saudi Arabia season finale.

The Middle East nation will make its WRC debut next month, offering perhaps the ultimate curveball for the crews. The roads are smooth and fast in places, but quickly shift to rougher, more abrasive terrain where caution becomes key. It’s a brand-new challenge for crews and engineers alike, with limited data and no established formbook.

It means whoever adapts to the conditions the quickest and avoids costly errors will most likely win this year’s title. There is no question Rovanpera has the ability to win this year’s title and swan off into the distance, but each of his rivals have an equal chance of picking up the winning ticket from the Saudi Arabia lottery.

Can Rovanpera take the title before bowing out of the WRC?

Photo by: Toyota Racing